tick born diseases

I'm choosing between Bravactor (3 months) and NexGard (1 month) for my 4 dogs.

Last year, one of my dogs was eating fine, then suddenly started vomiting nonstop at night. The next day, she couldn't walk and refused to eat. I was so scared and took her to the vet.

They did a blood test and found liver damage, suspected tick borne disease. I told the vet I didn't see any ticks or fleas, but they explained ticks can drop off and are very hard to spot, and fleas can jump off. Even if you remove a tick, the disease can already be transmitted.

Total treatment cost was around 500, plus follow up blood tests.

Before, I only gave prevention when I saw one or two ticks, but I learned my lesson the hard way. Prevention is much cheaper than treatment.

My vet said if I can't afford monthly prevention for all 4 dogs, I should give it at least once every two months.

Which one causes disease? Ticks, fleas, or both?

Both cause disease, but ticks are much more dangerous. Ticks can cause liver damage, kidney failure, paralysis, and death. That is what happened to my dog. Fleas can cause tapeworms, anemia (blood loss), and severe skin infections. They are less likely to cause sudden life threatening illness like ticks do. So both are bad, but ticks are the bigger killer. Prevention for both is still the best choice.

When Fear Arrives Late

When my dog suddenly couldn’t walk, fear rushed through me.

The vet was closing soon.

I didn’t know the road.

I didn’t even have enough money at that moment.

But love made me move faster than my fear.

I borrowed money from my mom, grabbed my keys, and drove out.

Normally I would delay, think too much, or avoid going alone.

But this time, I didn’t think .I just acted.

On the road, I didn’t shake.

My mind focused on the GPS, the traffic, and the hope that I wasn’t too late.

It was as if my body went into survival mode calm, steady, holding everything in.

Only when I reached the vet did the real fear catch up with me.

My hands began to shake as I talked to the doctor.

My fingers felt stiff, like stretched rubber  hard to open, hard to control.

My voice trembled.

And then the tears came, falling faster than I could stop them.

Fear didn’t show up while I was driving.

It arrived only when she was finally safe.

And maybe that’s what love does It makes us strong when we need to move,

and it lets us fall apart only when the emergency is over.